NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Criterion Blu-ray (October 2021): Criterion have transferred Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Lynne Ramsay and cinematographer Alwin Küchler". The new 1080P transfer has a few very dominant examples of teal-leaning - see HERE. There is an article about this new practice HERE. Thankfully it is only distractingly noticeable in a handful of scenes. We've compared some captures below with the, out-of-print, and also director approved 2002 DVD transfer from Criterion. Discounting the teal, it is a remarkable upgrade; brighter, truer flesh tones, rich colors and occasional depth. It does look glossy at times and I'm not discounting some digitization in terms of the contrast. It looks like a far 'newer' film presentation than the DVD. 

NOTE: We have added 42 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Criterion use a DTS-HD Master stereo track (24-bit) in the original English language (with heavy Glaswegian accents.) Ratcatcher has few aggressive moments that come through with modest depth and score by Rachel Portman (Feast of July, The Duchess, New York, I Love You, Life is Sweet, Polanski's Oliver Twist). There is other sampling of music indluding The Chordettes' Lollipop, Eddie Cochran's C'mon Everybody, Tom Jones What's New Pussycat, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra singing Something Stupid and more. It all sounds flawless - clean and tight - in the lossless transfer. Criterion offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Criterion Blu-ray offers two new supplements including a new 65-minute audio interview with Alwin Kuchler, conducted by cinematographer Christopher Ross. It was recorded in November 2020 for the program First Film First. In it, the cinematographer discusses his experiences working on Ratcatcher and the vital first steps of filmmaking. There is also a new (2021), 20-minute, interview with director Lynne Ramsay conducted by Criterion. They also include, from the previous DVD, the 22-minute 2002 interview with the director/writer. Repeated are her three selected shorts that Lynne Ramsay made before Ratcatcher. Small Deaths (1995) was her graduation film for the National Film and Television School in England, and it went on to win the Jury Prize for a short film at the Cannes Film Festival. Kill the Day (1996) and Gasman (1997) were awarded Jury Prizes at the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival and Cannes, respectively. There is also a trailer and the package has a liner notes booklet with essays by film critic Girish Shambu and filmmaker Barry Jenkins.

Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher is a devastatingly human film experience. Personally it evoked the Dardennes Rosetta for me. The Criterion Blu-ray with a new 4K- restoration has the teal issue but remains an impacting film expertly exporting grief, poverty, bleakness and resiliency. It's a poetic masterpiece of pure and essential cinema that is strongly recommended! 

Gary Tooze